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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29105382">When Morning Comes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllTheLokisWelcome7/pseuds/AllTheLokisWelcome7'>AllTheLokisWelcome7</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ikenfell (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>5-and-1, Blood, Cheek Kisses, Developing Relationship, During Canon, Hand Kisses, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Temporary Character Death, Treating injuries, Vague Medical Procedures, broken glass, postgame</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 14:07:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,985</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29105382</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllTheLokisWelcome7/pseuds/AllTheLokisWelcome7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>5 times Ibn gets hurt, and the 1 time it's Bax instead.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ibn Oxley/Bax Twiford</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>When Morning Comes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I had so much fun with the last 5-and-1 that I decided to do another one!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ibn smiled down at where Bax knelt, features scrunched with concentration as he bound the wound on his leg. After the first healing spell that Bax tried almost knocked him unconscious, he had resolved to treat wounds manually, worried about hurting him. Ibn didn't mind one bit. On the contrary, he loved the intimacy it brought them. He wouldn't go so far as to say he got hurt on <em>purpose, </em>but the chance to see Bax at his most tender was worth it every time.</p><p>“There, all done.” Bax wiped the sweat from his brow, gracelessly heaved to his feet. A strong hand stretched into his field of view. “Can you stand?”</p><p>A giddy rush oozed through his mind as he allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. Auburn lashes fluttered just to make Bax blush. “With a trivial thing such as this? Of course.”</p><p>Although the pain was minimal, able to support himself as normal, he took the chance to lean lightly into his protector's side. Deft fingers clutched at his waist to steady him; his own trailed over a scarlet sleeve and gathered at his elbow. Ikenfell was still quite a trek, but there was no one he would rather spend the journey with.</p><hr/><p>He withheld a giggle as a careful thumb stroked specks of ash from his cheek. Bax's dark eyes were so <em>deep</em>. The barest whisper of burgundy swam like the shadows of his magic around large pupils, filled to the brim with gentleness. Ibn could easily lose himself in their majesty. They closed, enthralling depths shielded by long-suffering lids, as that warm hand tucked a curl behind his ear.</p><p>“I do wish you hadn't picked that fight,” he sighed, attentive as ever. “There's no need to prove your worth, least of all to children. Not that you would've been hurt, of course, but guarding <em>you </em>isn't good for my heart.”</p><p>Ibn could only laugh, met with a benevolent frown, at his seriousness. “My dear Bax, you fuss too much!”</p><p>Firm lips drew tight, entire face turned away. Only his nose and ears protruded from his messy nest of hair.</p><p>Gentle hands guided that gorgeous gaze back to him, cupped around a cool jaw. “All I meant is that, even if it's only a job to you, I don't want you to hurt yourself over this.”</p><p>Bax's lip gradually settled back into place. “Fine.”</p><p>“There's a good man.” A loving pat was placed upon his cheek.</p><p>Red ears lit his heart on fire all over again, the nervous cough and evasive glance immensely satisfying.</p><p>
  <em> I hope you know I love you. </em>
</p><hr/><p>Golden petals rained from his cloak as he lurched to his feet. More cascaded from the sky, cast to the winds by the motion. Bax's hands reached to steady him, so he eagerly accepted the touch.</p><p>As he gazed up at them, his cheek came to rest on Bax's shoulder, as soft and sturdy as ever. “They're beautiful, aren't they?”</p><p>Bax shifted against him, twisted until Ibn's grip was comfortable, and followed his gaze into the sky. As a rare, peaceful smile graced his lips, Ibn forgot all about the flowers.</p><p>“They are. But, I can name several things more appealing.”</p><p>Ibn's heart thudded against his ribs as Bax glanced down at him, eyes half-lidded in that oh-so-clever way. A small smirk crept past his hair.</p><p>“How you tease me so.”</p><p>Bax pulled him closer, pulse visible in his throat, to rest his chin atop his head. “I think you stole my line.”</p><p>The aroma of his magic spilled from him like smoke, balanced his natural scent. If Ibn's own magic was the dew before the dawn, Bax's was the trees it clung to.</p><p>Ibn's fingers crawled beneath his cloak, smoothed over the expanse of his back. Since Bax was playing along for once, he would make the most of his hold.</p><hr/><p>“Incoming~!”</p><p>Wind whistled pleasantly through his hair, his clothes whipping majestically behind him. He was three storeys from the ground when Bax's magic embraced him, soothing, familiar and urgent, to lower him safely into his arms. Silken strands wove between his fingertips as he toyed with Bax's hair, arms draped leisurely over his shoulders. Ceaseless heat emanated from their chests to fight the evening chill. He was reluctant to let go when Bax set his feet on the ground, but complied to appease the dark lines at the edge of darker eyes. Instead, he clasped his sleeve, brushed his hand with his thumb.</p><p>“So little has changed since I was last here.”</p><p>A thick eyebrow rose. “You studied in Ikenfell?”</p><p>“You didn't know?” With his free hand, he flourished, flecks of light painting the sky around it. “Why do you think I'm a celebrity here?”</p><p>Bax hummed, raised the wing of his cloak to cover Ibn's back. “Because you did all those photo shoots. Your face is in every corner of the continent!”</p><p>Bubbling laughter warmed his chest. Rough wool scratched against his cheek as he lay it on his friend's shoulder. He reached over his own to grasp Bax's hand, delighted by his reddened ears.</p><p>“Aren't the stars lovely? We never get a chance to just stop and <em>look.</em>”</p><p>The tiniest smile graced Bax's lips, hair brushing his collar as he looked up. Gradually, his cheek dropped with a quiet <em>thud </em>onto Ibn's coif, sturdy like the rest of him.</p><p>
  <em>I'll take that as a yes.</em>
</p><p>Eventually, he straightened, hot arm still around his back as he guided him towards their next objective.</p><p>“I'm glad you broke my fall – I <em>knew </em>you wouldn't let me down!”</p><p>Even from here, the heat from Bax's face rivalled a campfire.</p><p>Mumbled words lapped at the edge of his hearing, almost lost to the breeze. “I'd make a pretty poor guardian if I did.”</p><p>Ibn couldn't help himself; he darted in to press a kiss to his cheek. The world burned beneath his lips, Bax on the verge of passing out, but only actions could express his gratitude. Bax cleared his throat when Ibn pulled away, nodded his support, left his arm around his back. Ibn's heart soared at their success.</p><hr/><p>Fractured rasps were all he could hear as he skidded on his knees, the burn as nothing to his heart. Bax stared sightlessly over his shoulder, eyes glazed, lids frozen. He was like lead in his arms, dense as a gravity spell across his thighs. Ghostly fingers ran scarlet where they trembled on his gut. Green leeched to sickly brown as the fluid stained his cuff.</p><p>A humid haze surged through his veins, hands aglow, before ice poured over his soul. Bax wouldn't look at him. Why wouldn't he look...?</p><p>“Bax...”</p><p>Neither a groan nor gurgle answered his call.</p><p>“Bax? Bax, come back to me! Come back...!”</p><p>An earth-shattering sigh escaped him, before he breathed no more. Wave after wave of light crashed over him, struck his chest, bathed the wound, but nothing seemed to work. Smooth cold found his hands, drawn from the pouch at his hip. Spikes rent his palms as a green liquid splattered. It drenched them both, tiny shimmers scattered like petals amidst red and grey.</p><p>“...No. No, <em>no, NO! </em>Bax!”</p><p>Forearms shook as he clutched his body, ragged wails loud enough to pierce his mind. Something snapped painfully in a surge of light and shadow, and then the world went dark.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>He awoke to open sky and a warm weight surrounding him. Blinking, his hands dragged along the familiar expanse of back.</p><p>“Bax...? Are you... Are <em>we</em>...?”</p><p>“We're alive.” Bax's voice was like rock, gravelly and jagged, with barely a hint of life. “We're alive, Ibn.”</p><p>Ibn sniffled. Rough robes greeted him as he buried his face in his chest, allowed the sobs to wrack his migraine and pour down his face. Bound to his will, waves of light crashed over them, softened the edges of their pain. Bax's magic laced through his own, split the burden as he always did. </p><p>A gentle thumb dragged over a damp cheek. Ibn blinked, gazed up into warm, adoring eyes. A painful smile split his lips, but relief won its war with fatigue. Words stuck to his tongue like honey, until three broke free, more important than he could describe.</p><p>“I love you.”</p><p>Bax cupped his cheek, leaned in until their noses bumped. Breaths still shallow, his eyes fell closed, forehead a comforting weight. Pain cracked his voice, but he smiled as he spoke his piece. “I love you too. We should... go.”</p><p>Feathers fluttered above them, where a great shadow blotted out the sun. They glanced up first in confusion, then in awe, at the great Child of Rava.</p><p>The voice bounced around their minds more than their ears. “It is my duty to serve, on this auspicious day. Where do you wish to go?”</p><p>“Where our hearts belong,” Bax grunted.</p><p>Wingbeats sucked all sound from the world, darker than midnight as they enshrouded the pair, before purple sky gave way to oaken walls. Cold stone morphed into coarse sheets. They grinned.</p><p>
  <em> The Stoc N Barrol. </em>
</p><p>She studied the room as though it spoke to her, form smaller to accommodate. “Is there anything else you require, before I take my leave?”</p><p>“A first aid kit, if you'd be so kind.”</p><p>The raven closed her eye, ruffled her feathers, then bowed her head. A pouch tumbled to the bed alongside the clack of her beak.</p><p>“May you find peace in this new age. Fare thee well.”</p><p>While her parting words fluttered about the room, she vanished. Bax's cloak was unclasped the moment they were alone, tugged from his shoulders by anxious hands; he merely raised his arms as his undershirt followed suit. Unsightly as it was, Ibn steeled himself to face the wound, Bax's treatment more important than his own discomfort. Water greeted him as he cleansed his hands before he set about his task.</p><p>Bax winced as the bandage pulled tight, but the light in his eyes begged him to continue. Silence made a welcome friend, as familiar as the old tavern walls. Once Ibn was done, Bax gently grasped his hands, brought them palm-up between their chests. Concern furrowed his brow as he studied them.</p><p>“Oh, Ibn... Look at you. This will be more painful than what you're used to, but please bear with me.”</p><p>Ibn nodded, tried to picture something else, jaw clenched as Bax began to remove the shards. Studying his face proved distracting enough, curious of the green smears.</p><p>
  <em>When did I... use a potion?</em>
</p><p>“I know you, Ibn.” Warmth flooded his tone, voice was as affectionate as the hands around his own. “I know you would've tried everything to save me. The state you're in is proof enough. ...Thank you.”</p><p>Hot liquid dripped onto his palms, mingled with sticky cold. Bax glanced up, crooked smile wavering. With his hands occupied, he leaned forward instead. Cool lips dried the tears from his cheek. A firm nuzzle stoked some heat between them. His treatment continued.</p><p>Thick salve soothed the aches as it oozed between his palms. Scratchy gauze blanketed first one hand, then the other, each bound in place with love. Finally, Bax kissed each of them, dark eyes never once astray from his own.</p><p>“Any better?”</p><p>His head dipped, too tired to rise again. Hesitant palms rose to cup his cheeks, Bax's smile caught between them. Sturdy arms surrounded him, and a brief flutter of fatigue rippled, before Bax guided him down. Thumbs dragged along pointed ears, the trail comforting even as eyelids sealed shut.</p><p>Slow, contented breaths soothed his nerves, the underlying rasp drowned out by his heartbeat. For all that had happened, it was remarkably strong, and faltered only rarely. His free hand rested on his chest, where the thrum of Bax's strength tingled at his fingertips.</p><p>
  <em>You'll be okay. We're here, safe and sound. See you... when morning comes.</em>
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